Turkish people should make a decision on Eu membership, Stoltenberg says

Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg who was in Turkey as the special guest of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday made a statement to the Turkiye daily. Stating that Turkey is a considerably modern country with an increasing importance worldwide, Stoltenberg said that Norwegian people didn't want to become an EU member, according to results of two referendums which were held in Norway with regard to EU membership. "Turkey should use the same method. Your people should make a decision on the issue," Stoltenberg said. When reiterated that Norway rejects EU membership thanks to its economic welfare, Stoltenberg said, "Of course, our oil and natural gas export make us strong. We didn't need the umbrella of a formation like EU. But there is free movement of goods and services between Norway and EU. We are now integrated with EU as one of its largest commercial partners. The situation and conditions regarding Turkey are different. We support Turkey's full EU membership bid. The Turkish people should make a decision on its EU membership." Stoltenberg also defined the relations between Turkey and Norway as perfect. Stating that Turkey plays an important role as a bridge between Asia and Europe, Stoltenberg said that Norway was willing to establish cooperation with Turkey in a wide range of issues including hydro-energy and maritime. Stoltenberg also expressed hope that cooperation would be established between Turkish and Norwegian companies which are quite experienced in offshore oil and gas exploration activities. In reply to a question about Syria, Stoltenberg said, "I'm very concerned about the Syrian issue. The Syrian administration should change its policies and initiate the process of transition to a peaceful, multi-party and democratic system as soon as possible. The most effective method of establishing peace in Syria is to ensure that Bashar al-Assad resigns and turns over the country's administration to somebody else. The shelters provided by Turkey for Syrian refugees are quite praiseworthy. The international society should maintain its pressure on Assad and make efforts to end the violence there."